Hotels near the FIA European Drag Racing Championship

Enjoy one of the fastest sports on the planet at Northampton's Santa Pod Raceway. Originating from illegal street racing in America in the 1950s, drag racing still has that underground allure and the smell of danger.

Dragsters are the fastest cars on earth. Two top fuel dragsters are more powerful than 15 Grand Prix cars and reach 100mph in one second and 300mph in five. The race consists of two drivers racing head-to-head over a quarter of a mile known as "the strip".

Other speed attractions are Europe's fastest motorbikes. The riders need to be in total control as the merest twitch of a finger and they are thrown from the bike.

The grandstand, which holds 11,850 spectators, runs the length of the track, so keep your eyes peeled during that vital millisecond when the car passes your seat.